All articles tagged with #4k blu ray
Devil Wears Prada 2 will stream on Disney+ and Hulu July 29, after a June 28 digital release on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home; a June 30 DVD–digital bundle featuring the 2006 original and the sequel arrives with four featurettes and extras (including the Runway video, gag reel, and an audio commentary). The movie has grossed over $676 million worldwide.
The Verge reviews Kaleidescape’s Strato E movie player, a compact $2,995 box that stores a handful of 4K titles on an internal 480GB SSD and can deliver near‑Blu‑ray quality with lossless audio thanks to its studio-tied encoding. It isn’t a streaming device, instead pulling from Kaleidescape’s store and Terra servers for larger libraries, and it outperforms typical streaming on bitrate—especially with titles like Maverick or Dune—yet it’s extremely storage‑limited and requires expensive Terra servers for expansion. For enthusiasts with the budget and a high‑end setup, it delivers an exceptional experience; for most buyers, Blu-ray, a NAS, or a cheaper player may offer better value.
With Sony and Microsoft shaping the next generation of consoles (PS6 and Project Helix), disc drives are likely to remain thanks to backward compatibility and higher fidelity 4K Blu-ray playback. Despite streaming's dominance, 4K Blu-ray sales rose in 2025, stand-alone players dwindled, and consoles remain the easiest way to access physical media and older games, suggesting discs will endure in the next generation.
4K Blu-ray discs generally offer superior picture and sound quality compared to streaming due to higher bitrates, less compression, and lossless audio, but streaming provides greater convenience and cost-effectiveness, with ongoing technological improvements potentially narrowing the quality gap.
Dune: Part Two, the highly anticipated sequel, is now available for digital purchase at $29.99 from platforms like Amazon, iTunes, Fandango, and the Microsoft Store, with a rental option for $24.99. The movie can be enjoyed at home without a subscription, and a 4K Blu-ray release is set for May 14, available for pre-order from various retailers.
The quality of streaming devices can impact the video and audio quality of your content, with different platforms and hardware delivering varying results. While there may not be a significant difference in video quality between streaming sticks and premium streaming boxes, the platform itself can affect the performance of apps. In terms of image quality, the Apple TV 4K is considered one of the best streaming devices, offering stability, reliability, and high-quality experience. When it comes to HDR, some monitors and TVs claim to be HDR-capable with 8-bit color, but many professionals and consumers believe 10-bit color should be the standard for HDR. In terms of watching movies, 4K Blu-ray discs with HDR are preferred for their higher bit rate and cleaner look, although streaming options can be cheaper and still offer great quality. Chroma subsampling, which compresses color information, is commonly used in TVs, with 4:2:0 being the most common spec for streaming and 4K Blu-ray discs. OLED TVs may look terrible in stores due to showroom settings, such as Vivid mode and motion smoothing, but can provide excellent picture quality when properly calibrated. If you already have a Panasonic UB820 Blu-ray player that meets your needs, there is no need to invest in a new player unless you have specific requirements for physical audio media.
Best Buy is offering the Disney 100 4K Blu-ray discs in Steelbook cases for $16.99 each on Cyber Monday, down from $29.99. This exclusive line includes popular titles such as the original Star Wars trilogy, Marvel's Iron Man, and classic Disney and Pixar productions. Best Buy has announced that it will stop selling physical discs by 2024. The standout releases are the 4K restoration of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and the 4K edition of Cinderella, both offering stunning visuals. As physical releases regain popularity, now is a good time to collect movies in 4K.
Best Buy is offering a wide selection of 4K Blu-rays for under $10 each, with many titles selling for at least half of their original prices. This comes as good news for collectors of physical media, especially with Barnes & Noble also offering a 50% off sale on Criterion Collection DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K versions. With Black Friday approaching, there will be even more opportunities to find deals on movies and 4K Blu-ray players.
The 1993 animated film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, has been remastered for 4K Blu-ray and is now available for pre-order. The remastered version will be released on September 12th and can be viewed on 4K Blu-ray players, including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The film, which ranks highly among the best Batman films, maintains the dark tone of the original animated series. The remastering process involved digital restoration to remove dirt and scratches while preserving the film grain and original artwork. The film will also be available for digital purchase on various platforms for $14.99.